Rep. Gallegly: Amnesty Will Not Pass Congress, Mr. President

Statement

U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly, (R-CA), Chairman of the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement, issued the following statement on President Obama's call today for Congress to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants:

"Providing a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, as the President called for again today, without requiring illegal immigrants to return to their countries of origin and apply for legal status, is amnesty.

"Amnesty will not pass Congress, Mr. President. It is unfair to the 26 million American workers who are unemployed or underemployed and it is unfair to those who are waiting to legally immigrate to the United States.

"Conservatively, seven million people are working in the United States illegally. Instead of focusing on creating jobs and getting 26 million Americans back to work, the President's proposal would give millions of illegal immigrants the opportunity to work legally in the United States, attract more illegal immigrants looking for the same opportunity, and take more jobs from American workers."